Thomas Vancaeyezeele and Kenardo Forbes earn All-USL first team honors

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC midfielder Kenardo Forbes and defender Thomas Vancaeyezeele have each been named Championship All-League First Team.

This is the sixth different season multiple Hounds have been named All-League First Team since the club played its first-ever campaign in 1999.

Forbes had a record-setting season, taking over as the USL Championship’s career leader in assists (39). His eight assists in 2020 ranked first for the club and second in the league. The midfielder has recorded at least eight assists in all three of his seasons with Pittsburgh; no other player in club history has more than one such campaign. This year, he started 11 of his 12 games played while posting a team-high 24 chances created.

This is the second straight season the Kingston, Jamaica native has been named All-League First Team, in addition to earning All-League Second Team honors in 2018 and 2016.

Including the club’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals match, Vancaeyezeele played every minute (1,530) for the Hounds. The center back helped lead the team to its regular season record 0.63 goals allowed per game while pacing the squad with 10 blocks. Over the course of playing all 16 regular season games, he racked up 30 interceptions while winning 82 percent of his tackles.

In 2019, the Caen, France native was named All-League Second Team.

While the Hounds placed two on the First-Team, Eastern Conference rivals Louisville City FC placed four players, including former Robert Morris University standout Devon “Speedy” Williams. The three-time USL Champion, Williams, was dynamic in LouCity’s lineup as he played all-but 18 minutes of the regular season and completed the most passes of any player (831) in the Championship. The Jamaican international also finished second among outfield players in recoveries (141) and posted a passing accuracy rate of 86.4 percent.

Here’s a look at the All-League First Team.

Previous All-League First Team honorees:
2019 – Kenardo Forbes
2019 – Joe Greenspan
2018 – Joe Greenspan
2015 – Rob Vincent
2013 – José Angulo
2013 – Matthew Dallman
2010 – Hunter Gilstrap

2010 – Shintaro Harada
2008 – Thabiso Khumalo
2004 – Said Ali
2004 – Nathan Salsi
2004 – Tiest Sondaal
2003 – Ricardo Villar
2003 – Thiago Martins
1999 – Tenywa Bonseu

Previous All-League Second Team honorees:
2019 – Neco Brett
2019 – Thomas Vancaeyezeele
2018 – Kenardo Forbes
2017 – Corey Hertzog
2016 – Corey Hertzog
2015 – Kevin Kerr
2013 – Andrew Marshall
2012 – Matt Kassel
2011 – Jason Yeisley
2010 – Chad Severs
2010 – Jeremy Deighton
2009 – Justin Evans
2008 – Justin Evans
2006 – David Flavius
2006 – Richard Bragg
2005 – Nathan Salsi
2004 – Chris Robinson
2004 – David Flavius

In addition, here’s the USL’s All-League Second Team, which includes two former Riverhounds’ Tyler Pasher and Christiano Francois.

Francois, the Haiti international continued to be one of the most electrifying wingers in the league as he recorded six goals and seven assists to help Reno record the best record in the regular season. Francois notched 33 chances created and completed 31 dribbles, consistently putting opposing defenses on the back foot.

In his second season as an out-and-out striker, the Canadian standout, Pasher, got out to one of the fastest starts in the Championship’s history with six goals in Indy’s first six games and finished the regular season with 10 goals and two assists while notching a passing accuracy rate of 83.5 percent to earn his first All-League selection.